The National
Science Foundation's (NSF) leadership in advancing the frontiers
of science and engineering research and education is complemented
by its commitment to excellence in Administration and Management
(A&M). The agency has a solid history of leveraging its agile,
motivated workforce, its mission-essential management processes,
and its state-of-the-art technological resources to promote the
progress of science and engineering through investments in people,
ideas, and tools.

For more than
50 years, NSF's high-performing workforce has enabled discovery,
learning, and innovation across the science and engineering frontier
in research and in education. New customer-focused eGovernment capabilities
have significantly improved the agency's ability to solicit, review,
select, award, manage and report results on government-funded research
and education projects. The agency's paper-based work processes
have evolved to capitalize on technology-enabled ways of doing business,
allowing the agency to serve as an effective and capable steward
of the taxpayer's resources.

Global trends
in science and engineering research and education, as well as emerging
societal trends clearly influence the agency's A&M priorities
and approaches. As the importance of science and engineering discovery,
learning and innovation becomes more prominent, so too does public
scrutiny. The agency must operate with due emphasis on accountability,
openness, and responsiveness to constituents. In keeping with the
realities of today's world, NSF must appropriately secure its resources
and provide adequate safeguards for its working environment and
critical systems.

NSF's focus
on demonstrating management excellence is sharpened through attention
to specific issues. For example, the President's Management Agenda
(PMA) mandates that NSF, like other agencies, must demonstrate consistent
results through proven management practices in human capital management,
eGovernment, competitive sourcing, financial management, and budget
and performance integration. In addition, the agency proactively
addresses management challenges identified through internal review
and oversight as well as those identified by its partners, including
the agency's Inspector General, committees of experts representing
the science and engineering community, and the General Accounting
Office.

While NSF's
A&M Strategic Plan directly supports several key initiatives,
it is also directly linked to the functional growth of the agency.
Moreover, the plan supports the collective goal to maintain
NSF's position as a government-wide leader in administration and
management. Specifically, the A&M Strategic Plan is a working
roadmap and set of goals that drive the effective development and
strategic management of the agency. The growth of the agency is
directly supported through three significant administration and
management strategic goals. These goals described in the A&M
Strategic Plan are:

Strategic
Management of Human Capital - a diverse, agile, results-oriented
cadre of NSF knowledge workers committed to enabling the agency's
mission and to constantly expanding their abilities to shape the
agency's future;

Ongoing Development
of Effective and Efficient Business Processes - strategically
aligned business processes that integrate and capitalize on the
agency's human capital and technology resources; and

Sustained
Investments in Technologies and Tools - flexible, reliable,
state-of-the-art business tools and technologies designed to support
the agency's mission, business processes, and customers.

The realization
of these goals demands a sustained commitment to business innovation-knowing
what the agency does, how it does it, and how it will evolve. Accordingly,
implementation strategies capitalize on the complex interdependencies
between Business Processes, Technologies and Tools and Human
Capital investments. They support NSF's science and engineering
research and education mission and acknowledge and respond to stakeholder
needs, including those of individual researchers and educators and
those of the agency's institutional partners.

NSF Business
Analysis: A Systemic Approach
In an effort to achieve our A&M strategic goals, NSF will initiate
a multi-year Business Analysis to conduct a comprehensive study
of NSF's business processes, workforce management and information
technology management.

The outcomes
of this analysis will guide long-term administration and management
investments that promise important results for the agency's mission
operations. The analysis will enable NSF to respond to challenges
such as the management of an increasingly multidisciplinary research
and education portfolio and management and oversight of a growing
number of complex large facility projects. It will also help us
respond to issues raised in the PMA and to government-wide issues
identified by the General Accounting Office.

This analysis
will focus on five NSF mission-focused, core business processes
that define how the agency delivers value to scientists, engineers,
and educators as well as to the nation and form the framework for
the analysis:

1. Resource
AllocationSetting the right priorities. A resource management process
that incorporates performance results and other inputs to prioritize
agency programmatic and management investments across organizational
levels, resulting in a balanced, performance-based portfolio.2. Merit ReviewIdentifying people, ideas, and tools with the greatest impact.
A fair, competitive, transparent merit review process for selecting
projects, managed in the context of priorities, and through which
the agency realizes its outcome goals.3. Award Management and OversightThe award cycle, beginning to end. A collaborative, multi-functional
award management and oversight process that (1) is informed by appropriate
risk management strategies, (2) ensures performance outcomes are
appropriately identified, (3) optimizes connections between discovery,
learning, innovation and widespread practice through effective evaluation
and communication, and (4) verifies that projects are in compliance
with award agreements and federal regulations.4. Knowledge ManagementThe right information, in the right place, at the right time.
A comprehensive set of information management and communications
activities that capture, synthesize and share new knowledge generated
by NSF and NSF investments - in order to provide the agency's many
stakeholders with reliable, timely and accessible information about
agency priorities and opportunities, and resulting science and engineering
outcomes and contributions.5. Performance Assessment and AccountabilityThe highest
standards of excellence and integrity.
A thorough performance assessment and accountability process that
develops and measures effective performance indicators and ensures
the agency is held accountable for meeting its mission and goals.

Project Goals
The following Business Analysis goals are enumerated in the A&M
Strategic Plan:

Document
each of the agency's core business processes and define its contribution
to the NSF mission

Develop future-looking
business process scenarios and criteria for success

Define process
effectiveness and efficiency improvements that capitalize on best
practices

Develop an
integrated technologies and enterprise architecture plan for future
systems in support of the agency's business processes

Addressing the
President's Management Agenda
In support of NSF's tradition of innovation and creative leadership,
the A&M Strategic Plan initiatives align perfectly with the PMA
initiatives, which are:

Strategic
Management of Human Capital

Expanding
Electronic Government

Competitive
Sourcing

Improved
Financial Performance

Budget and
Performance Integration

The relationship
between the PMA, NSF's A&M Strategic Plan and NSF's mission
critical Business Processes is illustrated in the chart below.

NSF is poised
as the government leader in administration and management. With
the implementation of the A&M Strategic Plan and Business Analysis,
our world-class workforce and cutting-edge business processes will
support our growing agency and ensure continued leadership and innovation.